Damned

Chapter One- The Girl that Got Hit By a Semi Truck

This is an author's note and doesn't affect the story at all, feel free to skip.

So, the first chapter of my new book! First thing I want to say is that this IS NOT A LOVE STORY. It might appear to be at first glance, but while I certainly do my best to ruin the characters' love lives (I might be kidding, I might not...), the plot will not revolve around it.

Second, I will be updating this on a regular basis (about every week) so it shouldn't be too agonizing for you guys to keep following.

Lastly, doing a book all by yourself it kinda difficult. You have no one to bounce ideas off of and there isn't a fresh mind to look over your work. That's why I'm looking for an editor. Please, oh please, if you have even fifteen minutes to spare I would be so grateful for one of you to look over my work. I'm willing to help you with anything writing related and you're username will be given credit in every chapter.

Critiquing is appreciated. Thank you all so much for reading,

-Sekai

Ean pushed open the door of the coffee shop and stepped out onto the wet sidewalk, shivering at the sudden dampness. He could still catch a whiff of hot chocolate and scones even with the door closed. Sighing, he turned in the direction of his apartment and started walking.

It was raining hard, and even though the colourful awnings overhead protected him from the worst of it, it didn't stop the chill creeping into his jacket, or the melancholy atmosphere weighing his spirits down.

Usually the rain in Newpoint wasn't this depressing. It made everything smell crisp and fresh and provided a soothing background to the noises of the city. But after almost a month of constant rainfall it was losing some of its charm.

There was flooding in the lower parts of the city, and whole blocks had been evacuated. There were even rumors of gangs and squatters making use of the empty buildings.

As Ean stopped at a crosswalk a shiver ran down his spine, raising hairs on the back of his neck. He zipped up his hoodie, trying to ward off the chill, but the goose bumps wouldn't go away.

Ean looked around, unnerved. A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him. He wasn't one of those people who believed in ESP, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was about to happen. Something big.

And then he spotted her.

A few feet away, balancing at the edge of the sidewalk, stood a girl. Her body was tensed as if ready to take flight and her wet blonde hair whipped around her face in the wake of the cars that passed by. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut and her pale, beautiful face was twisted in an expression of anguish. Maybe that was what drew Ean's eyes to her, maybe it was just intuition, but suddenly the chills stopped completely, and a strange calm spread through him. Like the windless, ozone-charged air right before a storm.

The girl stepped into the street and a scream tore from Ean's throat. She looked sharply in the direction of his voice and their eyes locked. The next moment seemed to happen in slow motion. A semi loomed up behind her and before the driver even had time to slam their brakes it collided with her. She was flung away like a rag doll from the force of impact, falling back onto the wet street.

Ean raced over to her, even though the logical part of his mind knew she must be dead. He knelt down on the road beside her, the asphalt digging into the knees of his jeans.

"Call nine-one-one!" He screamed to a shocked looking man standing nearby.

With shaking hands Ean unbuttoned her coat to see the extent of the damage and grimaced. She had a punctured a lung, judging by the trickle of blood leaking from her mouth and her ragged breathing. Splotches of red stained her shirt.

She opened her eyes to slits, staring at him at him groggily, then exhaled shakily. Ean had heard that sound before, when he volunteered at his parent's hospital. The soft, distinct sound of someone breathing their last.

Ean put two shaking fingers against the hollow of her neck. No pulse. "You know what to do. You've done it before." He murmured, mentally shaking himself.

Yes, he had performed CPR on a man who had a heart attack at a grocery store, but this felt different. It was something about this girl. He needed to save her.

Ean placed one hand on top of the other above her sternum, the tips of his ears flushing pink, and pushed down. He winced as he felt her already damaged ribs make a popping sound, but kept compressing in a steady rhythm, chanting the numbers in his head. He pressed his fingers against her slender neck again. Still dead. Taking a deep breath, Ean tilted her chin up and plugged her nose, pressing his lips against hers and breathing out.

For a millisecond he was distracted by a stray thought; he was actually kissing a complete stranger. He jerked away, shaking his head like a dog, and was about to feel for a pulse again when she gasped, her eyes fluttering open.

"Wha..." She asked faintly, then grimaced as she tried to move. She looked around in bewilderment. Her eyes, which were a brown so light they seemed golden, met with Ean's again, and just like before the world seemed to slow down, spiraling and fading around them until it was just the two of them. The panicked murmur of bystanders, the bone-cold wetness, the chaotic medley of cars all dissolved until the only thing in the universe was the two of them.

Then she coughed blood all over him.